First Day of School...Second time Around

Creighton and Ian started school one week after Baker...guess everyone starting at once would be too easy.

The boys were excited to get back to school and see old friends and and meet some new one's too. Creighton is off to 4th grade and Ian to 2nd.

And He's Off

We’ll we made it. Baker is off to 6th grade and I survived another Arizona summer at home with four boys. Who said it couldn’t be done? It probably had a large part to do with Mike being home for the last 4 weeks but none the less…we all survived!!

Mike started off the school year by giving Baker a blessing on Sunday night. It is always a honor to watch and partake in these blessings. I fell blessed to have the priesthood in our home and greatful to a husband that honors his and is worthy to hold and use it. Baker is the fist to start school this year. The other boys don't start for another week. Baker is super excited to be starting back up at school. He is very excited to have the teachers he does and be in the classes he is. He changes for every subject this year which is very exciting for him. He has to dress out for PE and has a locker to put some of his belongings in. (very grown up)

I had the opportunity to walk Baker to school on his first day, per his request. As we got closer and closer to the grounds I realized that I was probably going to be the only parent there. I kept asking him if he was sure that he wanted me to be there and his response was always “yes”. As we got to the spot he need to be there were no other parents in sight at all. I asked again, “Are you sure you want me to be here?” and he again said, “YES”. Friends came up to him that he hadn’t seen all summer; girls were coming up to him. It was a mad house as I had anticipated it being….still no parents. I asked again… “Baker, are you sure you wouldn’t feel better hanging out with your friends?” He said no. It was at this point I began feeling out of place and he was just standing by my side.

I thought back to my school days. I remember my Mom. She dropped me off every school year until I can remember. I remember High School and she or my dad taking me. Never was I embarrassed…we’ll let me rephrase that…my Mother never embarrassed me on the first day of school. She saved that for other days!! I loved them being there. It was a comfort to me. I recall them taking me to my classes. My mom and my dad. Holding hands even. I can recall my dad taking me to 10th grade in Phoenix, MD. (I won’t go into a detail…that was not a shining year for me) but I remember just knowing that he was there taking me in and that giving me the confidence that I could do it. My mom would take me to school be it I had gone there before or not. Maybe it was tradition, maybe it was to calm my nerves, and maybe it was just to let me know she loves me, as I found out on Monday that is why I did it for Baker. I’m not sure. All I know is that I was honored that he had me stay. That he wasn’t embarrassed to have me there. That among all his friends, he didn’t care that I was there. What a privilege it was to stand next to him and see him be himself and know that that was my young man. I am so very pleased with the choices he has made so far in his life and am excited to see what lies ahead for him. And like my parents, I will be there every step of the way as long as he wants me to be.

Double Digits...

Creighton has turned 10. Having two boys in the double digits makes us officially OLD! He had a week long birthday celebration and I guarantee you that the other boys will NOT let us forget that when it comes to their birthdays. When your big day falls on a Sunday and Saturday your parents are at Stake Conference meetings for the greater part of the day you tend to overdo the celebration a bit I guess. It all began Friday with a trip to CEC and movie night in the pool. Saturday we went to see a movie and had pizza. We made a stop to purchase some clothes and some ice-cream, followed by a late night swim in the dark with a game of shark. Sunday started off with breakfast and church followed by a big sugar fest with 3 different kinds of cookies and pokemon ball cupcakes and a family party. Monday was a special dinner of his choice: tacos and yes, more sugar. Tuesday he had his cousin spend the night and now I believe it is finally OVER!!! Happy birthday Creighton!!!
PS…next year…1 hour birthday celebration…be prepared!!!

Cosmic Bowling..."Soooo Totally Awesome!"

We took the boys bowling for one last summer bang before school starts with their cousins/best friends. The boys were super excited to find out that not only was it bowling but it was cosmic bowling. All the lights were turned off and the disco lights were on with music and fog. “Sooo totally awesome!” You know us…all about the awesome!! The boys had a great time.

Owen loved the shoes and Baker loved the graphics on the TV when he either got a gutter ball or a strike.
They had a blast and it was great fun to be able to share the day with cousins and even see Mike get up and try and bring back some of his own bowling magic.

Dedicated to the One’s I love…

I have been asked by a dear friend to update my blog…(because I have nothing better to do, Ya know, we are not all at the beach!!…just kidding Amber).

Summer has crept up on us quickly here and there is no rest for the weary!!! No rest for boys in general. We started off the summer with a bang and have tried to continue that way. Mike is off the month of July and I am counting down the days until I can have some reinforcement at home. But until then…this seems to keep most of them happy…

(owen)

(ian)
(mike) (owen)

**baker and creighton were @ scout camp for 3 day but i'm sure they will fall in line shortly**

Summer of Teeth

In the last 2 weeks, Ian has lost 3 teeth with still 2 teeth loose. Baker has lost 2 teeth in the last 3 weeks and has 3 loose teeth still. Owen swears he has a loose tooth but at 4 I am doubting it! Creighton seemed to go through his loosing period last year and is feeling a bit out of place. The tooth fairy is out of money and now on sabbatical!!! We are hoping for a small break from the summer of teeth!!

Sugar and Spice and Everything Nice...

So summer has begun and so has the whining…trying to keep the boys busy, active, and happy is no easy task. We have been doing a lot of baking.

The other day we had an “unbirthday” party. We made a cake, decorated it, put on candles, and snag “Happy Unbirthday to You”. I think that they had a good time. A couple days later we made some sugar cookies and decorated them. We were planning on dropping them off at some friend’s homes, but after all the finger licking I decided that that may not be the best idea. So we just ate them ourselves.

Busy boys make happy boys…or something like that…